Book info

• Title The Men Who Stare at Goats
• Author Jon Ronson
• Year 2004
• Genre Non-fiction

In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice – and indeed, the laws of physics – they believed that a soldier could adopt a cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren’t joking. What’s more, in the early 2000s, they’re back and fighting George W. Bush’s War on Terror. But why are they blasting Iraqi prisoners-of-war with the theme tune to the Barney the Purple Dinosaur show? Why have one hundred de-bleated goats been secretly placed inside the Special Forces command centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina? And how was the US military associated with the mysterious mass-suicide of a strange cult from San Diego?

Thoughts

I saw the film before I read the book, and took heed of those who said the book was nothing like the movie version. Whilst this is true, it also is very similar.

I feel as though when someone decided to make this into a film they realised that there were way too many characters in the book, and narrowed them down to make it easier to watch. There’s no story in the book, it is simply a navigation through research by Jon.

So, to the content itself. I love the stuff about goats and the walking through walls, and the general conspiracy theories that are presented throughout. It’s difficult to read some of the items about torture, and particularly the thoughts on why some of the pictures and things have come out.

The book seems to veer from ridiculous to really seriously very quickly, and it’s sometimes hard to work out what you’re meant to be feeling about what you’re reading. There are hard-hitting paragraphs, and some that make you feel guilty as a human being. But then there are the moments that are almost laugh out loud and that puts you at ease enough to continue reading. It wasn’t easy to get through, but the writing was good and the content was strong. I might have to watch the film again. Any excuse.

Rating: 3 / 5